Pure Contrast
by Hurricanes and Butterflies
Summary: My name is Alice Ricardi. I'm a histroy major and got my job at the museum about a year ago. Now, I'm being sent to the Smithsonian, looking after my friends. What happens when the tablet hitches a ride and my worst nightmares come true... R&R, please!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N:I know the idea for this story has been used, before, but I hope to make it different. Please, please, please! Don't just give up on this because you've seen it, before!_

* * *

I stared at him with wide eyes as he sauntered forward. I knew all about him: his temper, his history, his ups and downs, everything. I never believed this was going to happen to me. Al Capone grinned at me, pointing his Tommy gun at my chest. I was going to die by the hands of someone who should no longer be alive…

&&&&&&&&&&

I suppose I should start at the beginning. My name is Alice Ricardi, and I am twenty years old. I used to live in Chicago, Illinois but moved to New York to go to college. I major in history, but my favorites and specialties are the 1940s and the 1920s.

That's right: those roaring twenties, where you could dance around like a ditz, and feel so cool about it. You couldn't really dance like that anymore, let alone find anyone to dance with. Those must have been the good old days.

I had started working at the Museum of Natural History a little under a year ago. Working on my history major made this the perfect job for me. I figured that since no one was coming into the museum at night, I could wander around, looking at all the exhibits without interruption. I would have the whole museum to myself. Well, me and the other night guard, Larry. He seemed nice enough, though. Sort of reminded me of my father.

My first night on the job was the most surprising night of my life. I had set up base in the lobby's info booth, wearing my new uniform and trying some of those tricks I'd seen Larry do with my flashlight. Needless to say, they didn't look quite as professional as when he did them. His son, who had come to work with him, laughed at me. I smiled back, but I felt my ears turn red.

"So," I began, glancing at him and then the door, as the sun began to set, "What exactly goes on in the wild, wild world of the Museum of Natural History at night? I heard stuff on the news a while ago, about tracks and things, but I wasn't--- What's going on?" I watched as Larry looked at his watch, counting down in a whisper.

"Three, two, one," I smiled, watching the sun dip below the horizon. I guess, when you work here for so long, you get to know the exact time of everything. I opened my mouth to speak, but something stopped me. Did the T-Rex skeleton just move? I squinted my eyes. Naw, it must have been a trick of the- there it was, again! I turned to Larry and his son to say something, but the son was already walking torwards the skeleton.

"Hey, Rexy! Here boy!" My mouth dropped open as the fossil turned to see the boy, then wriggled his tail in the air, like a puppy wanting to play. I could hear other sounds of people and animals all around the museum. What was going on?!

"Lawrence, good evening! Oh, and who's the lady with you?" I turned to see the wax figurine of Teddy Roosevelt ride up on his horse, pointing to me. Larry looked at me and said,

"Oh, that's Alice, she's the new night guard. McPhee figured that I needed some help here, since there were three night guards working together before me." Teddy nodded his head, and nudged his horses towards me, reaching out a hand. I grabbed it, giving him a brisk handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Alice. I'm Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth president of the United States." I nodded, slowly, trying to piece together what all was going on. I saw an Inuit man and cheetah walk by on my left, then a moose and one of those faceless civil war puppets on my right. What was going on?! I snapped out of it, smiling at Teddy.

"Yes sir, I know who you are. I'm currently in college for my history major. I've written quite a few papers on you." The man smiled, probably a little flattered, then turned to Larry again. His son, I think his name was Nicky, had disappeared, probably with 'Rexy'.

"Well, Lawrence, I must go find Sacajawea." Then, he nudged his horse, Texas, into a walk and rode through the gathering crowds of museum exhibits. I looked at Larry, skeptically, and he looked back at me, as if remembering something. He smiled nervously.

"I probably should have told you about the exhibits coming to life at night, Shouldn't I?" I nodded silently, and he tried to smile, but it looked at bit more like a grimace. We both stood up and he led me on a tour of the museum, greeting all the inhabitants as if they were old friends. Well, the probably were. The last place on the tour was Ahkmenrah's tomb.

The jackal-headed statues stared at us, suspiciously, but didn't do anything with their large spears. A gold tablet was set on the wall above a sarcophagus, twinkling in the light. A man dressed as a pharaoh stood, his back facing us, looking at it. He jumped slightly as Larry said his name, then turned to us, smiling.

"Hello, Larry. Who's this?" I smiled at him, finding myself blushing. I couldn't help but think of him as handsome.

"I'm Alice Ricardi, the new night guard. It's my first night here." He smiled back at me, and I felt my insides melt. He pointed to the tablet.

"Well, I suppose you're wondering why everyone here is alive, well it's my tablet. It has magical properties that allow it to…" But my thoughts had already drifted away. I knew everything I needed to know, now, and this job, I now realized, would be better than ever. I couldn't wait to really get started.

&&&&&&&&&&

My nights at the museum were some of the best things that I'd ever experienced. I met many amazing people in that museum, from the miniatures Jed and Octavius, to the raging Attila and his men. I loved my job. Plus, my college papers had never before been so detailed or so personal. My professors were thrilled. Larry was a great guy, and his son, Nicky, was a bright boy that I was happy to hang around with.

Unfortunately, things that great can never last. Larry made it big with his glow-in-the-dark flashlight and made enough to quit his job at the museum for a spot in management of his company. We were all sad to see him go. Nicky got to come visit us, once in a while, but not very often. Quietly, Larry drifted away from us. We hadn't seen him in months.

I continued my job as night guard, keeping the nightly soccer matches and parties going, keeping every inhabitant inside at all costs. But something was missing, and we all knew what it was. We just couldn't do anything about it.

&&&&&&&&&&

"No way! You can't be serious!" McPhee glared up at me, sour expression enough to pickle eggs. I gave him an angry look, "These exhibits are great! You can't just get rid of them! I won't stand for this!" The man wiped his face, though I hadn't spit on him. With a matter-of-factly tone, he looked away for a moment, then back at me.

"Well, Ms. Ricardi," he said, "That's fine with me, because you are being fired. A human night guard is just as obsolete as the exhibits, and that's why we got an automated system." I stared at him, disbelieving. Did he just-? He couldn't have-! My mouth moved up and down, like a fish, but no words came out. McPhee looked at me for a moment, then turned to walk away. I found my words.

"Wait!" He stopped and turned back around. "I need this job! Really badly! How can you just fire me? I never did anything wrong." I gave him my most pitiful look. The one that makes him feel really bad. It seemed to be working.

"Oh, fine! Maybe I can pull some strings, get you a post somewhere else. Like, the Smithsonian, maybe. You said you wanted to go to Washington, D.C.! You got your wish. Now, stop looking at me like that! Like you're a… a… well, you know!" He stomped off, leaving me alone in my thoughts. I felt my heart sink.

&&&&&&&&&&

It was just about closing time, the night before the exhibits, my friends, and I were shipped to the Smithsonian museum, them to the federal archives and me to a new job as a night guard. I promised that we would celebrate among ourselves, and that I would go visit them when they were in the federal archives. I was simply patrolling for any stragglers when I came across McPhee talking to someone among the scattered boxes.

I approached the two, ready to shoo anyone away, when I saw that it was Larry, in one of his new business suits. I had tried not to think of him in one of those, rather remember the good old days when we were the night guards. He finished talking with McPhee, who ended the conversation and left, giving me a wary look on his way out. Larry turned to see me, his expression as shocked as mine when I found out what was going on.

"Alice! Is it really true? Are they really replacing the exhibits?" I nodded sadly, looking away for a moment at the boxes. They'd be awake at any moment… I looked back at Larry, who was looking rather down. I didn't want to make things worse for him, but he'd been gone for so long.

"This is my last night, as well." Larry stared at me in disbelief, and he opened his mouth to talk, but the boxes started to rattle, and the exhibits began to emerge. Many of them frowned at the sight of Larry, but ignored him. Teddy made his way through the crowds of animated statues and figures to meet Larry.

"Good to see you Lawrence! I see you've come back! I-" But a phone rang, and Larry pulled a blackberry out of his pocket, then started typing into it. Teddy looked at me in question.

"A cricket?" I smiled at what he thought the phone was. Larry finished whatever he was typing and looked up at us, slipping the phone in his pocket. I heard the box of miniatures shaking and walked over to open it, but Larry beat me to it. He lifted the lid and Jededaiah immediately hoisted himself onto the edge, dusting packing peanut crumbs off him. He looked up at Larry with anger.

"Well if it ain't Mr. Big-in-the-britches, himself?! Come to see us on our last night?" I walked up next to Larry, and Jed tipped his hat at me. "Hey, Alice."

"Yeah, Jed, I'm sorry! I never knew! I'll call the board in the morning." Octavius hoisted himself onto the edge, next to Jed. He bowed to me, then turned to Larry.

"Sorry, Larry, but I don't think it'll do much. I can tell you're generally somewhat concerned, but without you here, no one would listen. Miss Alice tried to stop it, but she was replaced with some sort of robo-guard." I nodded, looking away. This is was my last night. I was leaving on a plane, tomorrow. Octavius gazed into the distance, trying to seem dramatic.

"Even the glory of Rome had to end." I stifled a giggle. Octavius was such a drama queen. Larry waved a hand in front of the little man's face.

"Uh, hello? I'm right here! Do you have to look dramatically off into the middle distance? It makes me feel even worse." Octavius shook his head, not looking away.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Larry was getting pretty peeved, but Octavius mumbled something about a nice piece of wall. I let myself smile, trying to forget about the circumstances. Texas, Teddy's horse, blew on my ear. I turned to see Teddy there.

"I don't about you all," he said, examining each of us, "But I would like one more stroll around the museum. As a family. I'm not one to wallow in self-pity. My dear?" He reached out a hand to Sacajawea, who had just emerged from her box, and helped her onto Texas. I offered a hand to Jed and Octavius, but while Octavius climbed into my palm, Jed just shook his head.

"No, I'm just gonna wallow in self-pity." I shrugged, and I felt an arm hook into mine. I turned to see Ahkmenrah, giving me a sad smile. I blushed. He gestured at the receding form of Teddy and Sacajawea, and Larry.

"My lady?" I smiled, and we started walking. I was so happy to take one last look at everything before my flight to Washington, D.C. I said goodbye to everyone who was staying, got to touch the tablet one last time, and got some closure. In the back of my mind, I knew my apartment was already packed up and most of my belongings were already shipped to a new one in Washington. My classes were now online, well they already had been, but now I didn't need to go to any classrooms. I could still work on my dissertation. But it wouldn't be the same. It would lack that sense of adventure.

Morning was fast approaching, and all the exhibits were returning to their crates. This would be their last night, alive. I turned to Ahkmenrah, and kissed him on the cheek. He stared at me, incredulous. Even I couldn't believe my forwardness. But, he smiled and gave me one back.

"I shall miss you, Alice." I smiled back, face reddening more than ever. I heard Octavius say something, but ignored it. I was trying to make the moment last.

"I'll miss you, too. I promise to come visit." He smiled one last time, then left to get back to his exhibit. I replaced Octavius to his crate, and he gave me a sly smile, having seen what happened between me and Ahkmenrah. I gave him a swift peck on the head and he blushed.

"Hey!" I looked at Jed, who had crossed his arms, and gave him one, too. He smiled, "Aw, shucks."

"I promise to visit you guys as soon as I can. I'll make sure everyone is in one piece, okay?" All the exhibits nodded, then closed their crates. I turned to Larry, who was speaking with Teddy.

"The key to happiness is-" Another cell phone ring cut him off, though. Larry pulled it out of his pocket and put a finger up, saying something about a Wal-Mart deal. Teddy and I looked at each other, then at Larry. He hung up, then looked back at Teddy.

"The key to happiness is-?" But the first rays of sun had just started to filter in, and the twenty-sixth president was now as still as a wax statue. I looked at Larry, peeved at how he'd dropped us for his business like a hot tamale, but I couldn't stay mad. It could be my last time seeing him. We hugged for a moment.

"Can you tell Nicky I said bye? I know I haven't seen him in a while, but hopefully he'll remember who I am." Larry nodded, and I continued. "I'm helping get everyone packed up, then I boarding the plane. I may never get a chance to come back. If you can, can you tell everyone I miss them?" He nodded again.

"Can do." I smiled, then we walked in opposite directions to go home. I gave myself one last look at the museum, then left it for good. I had to get some sleep before I caught my plane.

&&&&&&&&&&

My flight went of without a hitch. The airport was a little crowded, but besides that, it was good. My rental car came in time, and my apartment was nice. My stuff had already arrived, and it was just up to me to unpack. I spent most of the day unpacking, and got my bed and bathroom supplies done before making my way to work. I wore my favorite outfit, the one with the pinstripes. It consisted my pinstriped converse with purple shoelaces, my pinstriped pants, a pinstriped vest, a black button-down shirt with a purple scarf, and my favorite pinstriped fedora. I figured I'd get there early, check on everyone, then change and proceed to do my job.

Everything was going fine. I'd received my identification card, and could get into the federal archives, where everything was. My entrance was through the castle, one of my favorite parts of the museum. I stopped on my way in to admire their Al Capone exhibit. It was him as a young man, rather than the older Al Capone most people knew about.

I was actually writing my dissertation on the man. This was mostly because I was from Chicago, my family was Italian, and I'd not only lived across the lake from a house he'd owned, but I'd worked at his soup kitchen as a teenager. I smiled, thinking about my earlier years in Chicago. My friends and I would joke about skeletons in the lake with cement shoes, or a cellar of illegally brewed alcohol in his house. I suppose that Al Capone was a bigger part of my life than anyone would have thought.

As I looked him over, I couldn't help but laugh. We were almost matching, with our pinstriped clothes. All I needed was the jacket and a slightly different hat and I would've been his twin. I let myself linger for a moment, reading the caption for historical accuracy, being the history geek I was, then reminded myself that I was on a mission.

I managed to locate the giant crate I'd packed earlier that day, and opened it, carefully. All the crates appeared to be in good condition, and I proceeded to start opening them. Sacajawea had a broken finger, but I melted it back together with my lighter. Everyone else seemed to be in good order, despite some bumps and bruises they recieved during the flight.

Dexter was my last exhibit to check. I opened the lid of his crate to see something gold glitter in the receding light. Dexter was not gold, and nothing glittery should have been in the box with him. I gently lifted him out and found he was carrying something. I gasped. The tablet! He shouldn't have had that! And that meant…

I checked my watch. It was 7:45. Sunset. I heard Dexter chatter at me, and I placed him on the crate. His grasp on the tablet tightened, and he chattered at me again, as if asking me what I was doing there. I heard the other occupants of the crate rising and started opening some of the lids. They seemed surprised to be alive; yesterday was supposed to be their last night.

Attila grunted at me, but I had no way of communicating with him. Sacajawea sat on the edge of her crate, removing packing peanuts from her hair. She inspected the finger I'd fixed, then looked at me.

"Alice? We're alive? How?" I sighed, then pointed at Dexter, who sat innocently on the crate, tablet still in his hands.

"He stole the tablet. I don't know how, but he managed it. We're in the Federal Archives, right now. I might have to leave soon…" I heard the miniatures crate rattle and made my over, opening it up. Jed and Octavius looked up at me, shocked.

"We're alive!" the cowboy shouted, amazed. I dug all the miniatures out of their foam prison, and placed them on the crates. They tipped their hats and bowed to me, and I tipped my hat right back. The noise in there, with all the talking and such, was incredible.

"Guys." No one seemed to hear me. "Guys. Guys? GUYS!" I held my arms up and the crate silenced. I let my arms drop, "Okay. Dexter, over here, stole the tablet, which means that we're all alive, right? Now, I have to get up on top of the ground in a little bit, which means that you'll be here, alone. I need you guys to stay in this crate until I get back. That way, I can get the tablet -without anyone thinking of me as a thief- and ship it to New York. I know it's going to be tough, staying in this little space, but we can't cause a commotion. People aren't used to museums coming to life, like I am."

The exhibits nodded, and I felt slightly better about the situation. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, searching my contacts for Larry Daley. I hoped I hadn't deleted it when he left... I smiled when I found it and was about to press send when I heard a noise outside the crate. It sounded like talking in some language and footsteps.

That's when it hit me. We had a tablet that brought exhibits to life _in one of the largest museums in the world. _Panicked, I placed my cell phone on the crate, next to Jed and Octavius, and opened the door, peeking out. I was greeted with the sharp ends of some spears.

* * *

_A/N: I hope it's good so far. I'm trying to make it as different as possible from the other Battle of the Smithsonian fics as possible, so hopefully it's headed in that direction. Everyone seems to be related to Larry, and I wanted to cut that out of the equation as soon as possible. Plus, no one's done anything from inside the crate on the first night. Hope you enjoy!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Okay, chapter one came out fine. Figured I'd do a chapter two. Enjoy. Only Alice belongs to me, by the way, everyone else isn't mine._

* * *

I stared at the spears, following them to their owners, a few very angry Egyptian warriors. I glanced behind them at a few more warriors and a man that looked like a pharaoh. He glared at me. I smiled nervously, poking the end of a spear. A pinpoint of blood appeared on it.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment.." I slowly closed the doors and turned to the exhibits. "Uh oh." They looked at me, worried. Sacajawea grabbed my arm. I suppose I was about to fall over.

"What is it, Alice?" My eyes met the eyes of every single person in that crate and I could feel the tension building. I swallowed, then opened my mouth.

"There's a pack of angry Egyptians out there, with pointy objects, and they don't seem very friendly." Everyone looked at me, not completely believing me. I pointed at the doors. "Seriously. They're out there." I heard a pounding on the door, and someone shouted in Egyptian. I tensed up, and the whole crate seemed to follow me. I took a deep breath.

"I'm going to see what's going on." The exhibits nodded, and I opened the door a bit. The spears were still there.

"Excuse me! Um, hi. Can we talk?" The pharaoh looked at me, then said something in Egyptian. The warriors rested their spears on their shoulders and I made my way out to meet the man, face to face. I glanced back for a moment to see the faces of my friends peeking out from the crack in the door, then looked back at the pharaoh.

"Um, hello, sir. I am, um, Alice Ricardi. You see, we're new here and I was sort of hoping that your men could not skewer any of us. It's just that-" He held up a hand, silencing me. I bit my lower lip as he seemed to consider what I had said.

"I am the great Kahmunrah, and I have come BACK TO LIFE!" He spoke in a loud, commanding voice with a slight lisp, and rose his voice at what he must have felt was important. I nodded, thinking. Where had I heard that name, before? It was on the tip of my tongue… I'd heard it before in a history book…. I put up a finger.

"Oh! Kahmunrah! I've met your brother, Ahkmenrah. He's a really nice guy." The man, Kahmunrah, scowled at the word 'brother'.

"So you know my little brother, do you? Mother and Father always gave _him_ everything! He took the throne and tablet away from me! He never mentioned that, did he?" I opened my mouth to say something, but there was nothing to say.

"No," I managed to squeak out. The man scowled at me, examining me. I felt kind of like a bug under a microscope. Not fun. I could feel the stony gaze of his guards, too, and the hopeful stares from my friends. Kahmunrah finally reached out and lifted my chin, to get a better look at my face. Normally, I would smack the hand away and yell something, but since he had a bunch of guards with spears, I figured I shouldn't.

"You have a pretty face," he finally said, "If you give me the tablet, I promise not to hurt you." I felt really awkward, at this moment. Obviously, he was bitter about being upstaged by his brother, and I knew for a fact that a guy like that would not do good with a magical tablet. I smiled, nervously, backing out of his grip.

"Um, we sort of need it, so I can't quite give it to you. Maybe some other time." Kahmunrah gave me a disappointed look. Not the sort of 'Aww. Why not?' looks, but more of a, "Hmph. Now I have to kill you.' Look.

"Well then. I suppose I'll have to kill you." Then he said something in Egyptian. The guards lowered their spears at me. I let out a yelp and scampered back into the crate, slamming the doors shut behind me. I heard the clang of metal against metal.

"That could have gone better." I huffed, collapsing to the ground. My friends huddled around me, making sure I was fine. I nodded to them, catching my breath. This wasn't good.

I finally stood, picking up my cell phone and pressing send. I put it on speaker and set it next to Jed. The exhibits and I began to pick up their weapons, which was basically a few bows and a quiver or two of arrows. The phone rang a few times, before going to the voice-mail. I groaned as Jed began to yell into the phone.

"GIGANTOR! WE NEED YOU!" I joined him, standing above the phone.

"Larry! Dexter stole the tablet and now everything's come to life!" The phone was suddenly picked up.

"Guys?! Jed?! Alice?! Dexter did _what_?!" I glanced around. The Huns had opened the doors a bit, poking their arrows out at the Egyptians.

"He stole the tablet! And now we're being surrounded by the guards of Kahmunrah, Ahkmenrah's brother!" I shouted above the noise. How he could hear us, I'd never know. It was chaos!

"And, boy, is he madder than a rattlesnake that choked on a mouse! Not a friendly! I repeat: not a friendly! Come quick! Come qui- Hey! Give me back the talkin' box! No, don't do that! No…" A Neanderthal had grabbed the phone and was shaking it around, accidentally smashing it on the crate. My eyes teared up a bit; there went our last hope of survival.

I felt the tears swell in my eyes when I felt a tiny hand pat my cheek. Octavius smiled at me, trying to seem comforting. Jed did the same on the other cheek.

"It's alright, my lady. We'll figure out a way out of this. Perhaps, when the morning comes, you can get out with the tablet and this will be solved." I nodded, but I didn't feel much better. He was right. I _could _walk out of there when morning came. But that would mean that my friend's last memories would be of angry Egyptians. Either way, it looked bad. I picked up a bow, but Sacajawea stopped me.

"You are real. If you get stabbed, then you are really dead. We are just wax. You need to stay back." I nodded, huddling at the back of the crate. I knew she was right, but I wanted to help.

My friends held off the Egyptians for a while, but the guards were too strong and too many. I checked my clock, watching the hours tick by. I don't remember when I fell asleep, but I remember the shouts of my friends, the angry Egyptian words, and someone's voice telling me everything would be fine.

&&&&&&&&&&

When I woke up, it was 10:00 AM. I stood, my body protesting. Everything ached. My friends, even though they were frozen, were pounding against the door, bows and arrows still at the ready. I moved some of them out of the way to access the doors and pushed.

They didn't budge. I threw all my weight against the doors, but they wouldn't open. Kahmunrah must have locked the door while I was asleep, because I had no way out. I felt myself crying again, wishing for someone to come, but no one seemed to visit the Federal Archives very often, because when I asked to enter, the other guard looked at me like I was crazy.

I huddled against the back wall, again. Trying to imagine what I'd do if I could get out. I'd say goodbye to my friends, then go out and push a few guards around. Then, I'd laugh in Kahmunrah's frozen face and walk out with the tablet. I'd then send it to Larry and live happily ever after. Maybe. If I ever got out of the crate!

My stomach growled and I'd wished I'd had a bigger dinner. I was stuck, and there was no way I could get food. I tried to ignore the hunger pangs, but it was too hard. I paced around the crate for a while. I picked up Jed and Octavius once or twice, and made them say nice things to me, to cheer me up. I held a bow pulling it back and feeling powerful. Mostly, I slept.

I slept for hours, dreaming of New York, and Ahkmenrah, and the museum. The good old days, really. Oh, those dreams were so great. They felt so real. I remembered the soccer matches, and our big parties, and riding on Rexy with Nicky. I remembered conversing with Octavius about my paper in Ancient Rome, and how Jed got so jealous that I hadn't done one on the Old West.

I remembered just sitting and talking with Ahkmenrah, and how it'd make me feel so lucky, and so loved inside. I woke up smiling, before remembering that I was stuck in a crate. My watch said it was after 4:00 PM. I got up and paced a bit more before going back to sleep.

My dreams of happiness ended, and my nightmares began. I dreamt of my friends getting stabbed through by Egyptian spears, then me getting run through. I dreamt of Larry going to rescue me, but failing. I deamed of Larry not coming, at all.

My mind wandered farther, drifting to the exhibit I'd seen of Al Capone. My mind skimmed through his history, then left me with my worst nightmare. I was standing in a black space when a spotlight shown on the wax figure of Al Capone. His features shifted until he was giving me a feral grin.

"Sorry, Doll face." He raised his Tommy gun at me, and I took a step back in fear. BANG!

I woke in a cold sweat. I heard a loud CLICK! Then the door opened slightly to reveal a face I thought I'd never see. I stood up, and ran over to him, grabbing him in a tight hug. He seemed surprised at my sudden appearance, but took it well.

"Larry! Oh, Larry! Thank god! We need to get the tablet out of here before they wake up!" I ran back in and grabbed the tablet from Dexter's grasp, then handed it to Larry. He inspected it for a moment, then looked up at me. I looked at my watch, but the battery had died.

"By the way, what time is it?" He looked at his watch, then back at me.

"7:45. Why?" I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away from the area, but it was too late. The exhibits awoke, then screaming continued. The doors to the container were immediately shut and Larry and I were surrounded by spears.

Kahmunrah said something in Egyptian. We didn't respond. He shook his head, and began to speak French. We were silent, again. He glared at me, then said.

"English, then?" We nodded, and he continued, looking at Larry, "For you who doesn't know, I am Kahmunrah! King of kings! Ruler of Egypt, and I have come back TO LIFE!" Larry and I looked at each other for a moment, grimacing, then back to Kahmunrah, who seemed kind of unhappy.

"You! I am a centuries old Pharaoh! Why don't you fear me? I have come back to life!" Larry took a few steps towards him.

"Yeah, Welcome back. I'm, uh, Larry Daley, of Daley Devices. I think you've already met Alice, Alice Ricardi. I'm from Brooklyn. We actually know your brother, Ahkmenrah. Nice kid, really polite."

I reached out to stop him, because I knew that the second Larry mentioned Ahkmenrah, Kahmunrah would get pretty peeved. But, it was too late. The pharaoh rolled his eyes.

"Ohhh, he knows baby brother, too! My brother got the best of _everything_. Mother and Father spoiled him so. He got the throne and the tablet, which are _rightfully mine_. He never told you that?" I sighed, having already heard this. Larry looked a little uncomfortable. We both knew that this guy couldn't get a hold of the tablet. Kahmunrah looked at me for a moment, then back at Larry.

"If you give me the tablet, now, I won't hurt the girl." I felt someone grab me from behind, and I felt the razor sharp tip of a spear pressed gently against my throat. I could hear the voices of my friends from inside the crate, but there was nothing they could do. Larry looked at the ground, then handed the tablet over to Kahmunrah.

"I thought you would've wanted the cube, though." Kahmunrah and I looked up at the same moment. Cube? What cube? I wracked my brain for such a thing, but nothing came to mind. I looked at Larry, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

"Cube?" The guard let me go, and I walked next to Larry, who continued on about this 'cube', calm as ever.

"Yeah! The cube of… Rubik's! Even your brother didn't want to have a part in it. I just thought you were a next level kind of guy. But, whatever. My bad." Larry started to lead me away from the pharaoh, when we heard from behind us.

"Wait! Take me to this 'cube'." I felt myself being grabbed by the shoulders and turned to look at Kahmunrah by a guard. Larry nodded and started walking, leading us to the heart of the Federal Archives. By this point, I knew there was no 'cube'. Since there wasn't, I could only wonder what he was bringing us to.

"Here it is." We stopped by a large crate, and Kahmunrah ordered his guards to open it. The used one of their spears as a crowbar, and one side fell off. Much to my, and their, surprise, the tentacles of a giant squid burst out of it, grabbing whatever it felt, which was basically the guards and Kahmunrah.

The pharaoh yelped as he felt himself being lifted into the air, and lost his grip on the tablet. I managed to grab it and took off running. I could hear him cursing and ordering his guards in Egyptian. I could hear Larry's footsteps beside me, then the faint footsteps of the guards behind us. I pushed myself to run, faster.

"Where should we-?" I turned to see that Larry had deserted me, and that was when I ran, full force, into someone. I immediately recognized it to be Amelia Earhart from the old-fashioned flying clothes.

"So, missy, what's got you jimmy jacked? What's your name?" I stared at her, speechless for a moment, as she grabbed my hand and helped me to my feet. The sounds of shouting in another aisle brought me to my senses.

"Alice, Alice Ricardi. And, right now's not the best time. I'm being chased by angry Egyptians with spears and a giant squid. I _really_ need to get moving!" I turned to start running again when I felt an arm grab mine. Amelia wasn't letting me go.

"Well count me in! Damn it, I smell adventure and I want in!" I nodded, and she took off running, dragging me with her. At the end of the aisle, I saw Larry stop and look at us. We ran to meet him.

"Larry, Amelia. Amelia, Larry. Now let's go!" I tossed Larry the tablet and we took off running down another aisle. I could hear Kahmunrah's shouts, and figured that he'd escaped the squid. And he was probably mad. I turned to ask Larry something when I saw he was gone, again. Amelia seemed to be playing the 'Leave-Alice-behind' game, too.

I turned a corner, finding myself face to face with a very unhappy Kahmunrah. He pointed to me and shouted something like, 'SEIZE HER!' But I was already running. I glanced behind me to see the guards were catching up, and turned another corner to find racks and racks of costumes. I dove in between some long skirts from the 1800s, hiding. I heard the guards walk into the aisle, looking around for me, confused as to why I wasn't there.

"Come on, then! She's not here! We must find them!" Kahmunrah must have been very peeved by my disappearance. This meant he was 0 for 2, or rather 3, now. I waited until I heard them walk away, then a little longer until I emerged. I had lost my hat, which made me sad. I'd loved that hat; it was my favorite.

I began inspecting the costumes they had. Maybe if I dressed differently, like one of the exhibits, they wouldn't recognize me. I'd get a chance to grab the tablet and make things right again. I was immediately drawn to the 1920s section. When most people think of the '20s, they think of flappers, and that was obviously most of what I found.

I'm not very found of dresses, and the showgirl's dresses I found were as short as they came, so I skipped out those and went to the men's clothes. I smiled, finding a suit that was almost identical to what I was wearing, then one Al Capone was wearing when I saw him, the day before. The one he was in when I had my dream….

I shuddered, moving back to the women's clothes. I managed to find a long pinstriped skirt, one that reached my calves, and kind of fluffed out a bit. Then, I stole the real pinstriped vest from the Al Capone look-alike suit, and put it on over my black button-down shirt. I managed to find a purple tie and put it on, tucking it under the vest.

I picked up the hat from Al Capone's suit, and put it on my head when I realized that a wig would be needed. I took the hat off and tucked it under my arm and searched for a good wig, without a headband attached. I may not have mentioned, but I have _really _short hair. I cut it a couple years ago, when I left home, to show off my independence, and I liked to spike it up once and a while. However, haircuts weren't quite _that _short in the '20s.

I picked a black bob that flipped out a bit at the ends, curling up at my ears. For the finishing touches, I grabbed a women's pinstriped jacket and some acceptable black shoes, since I tried to avoid heels for obvious reasons. I plopped the hat back on my head and searched for a mirror, but since there wasn't one, I figured I'd just have to trust my luck.

I'd followed all my vast history knowledge told me, and despite the fact that I could be Al Capone's female twin, I figured I looked pretty good. I folded my old clothes, promising to come back and get them, later, and left.

I made my way into the actual museums -the art museum, to be exact- and found Larry and Amelia running. I ran to meet them.

"Guys! Wait!" All of a sudden, I saw the Egyptian guards behind me, and I began sprinting after the two. I turned to see where we were heading, when I saw a wall. Well, the picture of the couple kissing in Times Square, to be exact. I braced myself for impact, since I couldn't stop, but it never came. I ran into something, hard, but it was fleshy and yelped, "Ow!"

Now sitting on the ground, I looked up to see a sailor, who looked down at me in shock. He offered a hand, which I took, and helped me up. I dusted myself off, examining him from head to toe. He was quite handsome, and I found myself blushing. Geez! Why did every good-looking man on the planet make my insides melt?! He smiled at me.

"Sorry 'bout that… But, did you hear? We won! The name's Joey, by the way. Joey Motorola." I smiled. He had the same name as my phone company! The average person would be asking 'What war?' But the '40s were my specialty, and I smiled.

"We beat the Germans?" The man, Joey, nodded. I gave him my best smile, "I'm Alice, Alice Ricardi." He nodded, smiling and thinking.

"Alice… That's a nice name. "I was about to ask him more when I saw Larry and Amelia run up to us, panting for breath. I could hear the guards' voices above the crowd and panicked, grabbing onto Joey. He didn't seem to mind, but was taken by surprise.

"Hey, what're you worrying 'bout? The war's over!" I saw the guards getting closer, but didn't want to let go of Joey. Hugging him made me feel better. Larry pointed to the guards.

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to run from those guys back there. They're giving me grief because I'm from Brooklyn!" Joey stiffened, and I let him go. His face turned from one of happiness and maybe a little confusion to one of disgust. He motioned for some friends to come over. We were soon surrounded by some large sailors.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of them. Hey, boys! These guys are giving my buddy here trouble for being from Brooklyn!" The guys frowned, and started heading towards the guards. I saw Joey wink at me, and I smiled back. Larry tugged on my arm and we began running. I glanced back to see Joey pick up a Blackberry.

"Hey, mister! You dropped your- What the hell is this thing?!" I smiled, when suddenly, I was ripped out of Larry's grip. A guard had grabbed me, and was pulling me back towards the others. I saw Larry look back for a moment, but keep running. I knew it was probably killing him to do it, but I couldn't endanger him for me. I turned to look at the guard and stomped hard on his bare foot. He yelled and let go, and I took off towards the exit of the painting.

I could hear the pounding of the guard's feet on the pavement and picked up my pace. I suppose Joey's friends could only hold them off for so long. I took one last stride before jumping out of the painting and landing on the ground. I was immediately standing and turned the painting around, trapping the many guards inside. I panted heavily, pushing the frame into the wall until I figured it was okay. I then began laughing crazily, collapsing to the ground.

"I must be out of my mind!" I said to myself, shaking with laughter. Or maybe it was fear. Or exhaustion. Or all of them. I heard the soft click of nice shoes on the ground, and stood up, turning around, slowly.

I stared at him with wide eyes as he sauntered forward. I knew all about him: his temper, his history, his ups and downs, everything. I never believed this was going to happen to me. Al Capone grinned at me, pointing his Tommy gun at my chest. I was going to die by the hands of someone who should no longer be alive...

"Sorry, Toots." He gave me a feral grin, just like in my dream, and I took a step back, as if distance would save me. Suddenly, I felt something hit me in the back of the head with a loud WHAP! Everything was suddenly silent. I felt my knees buckle beneath me, and I collapsed. The last thing I saw was Al Capone walking forward, laughing. My world went dark.

_

* * *

_

A/N: Hope you are enjoying it, so far. I've been trying to stick with the original story, but some parts, like General Custer, were left out. Sorry about that, but I figured Larry would've met him after leaving Alice for that bit. Remember that reviews get you cookies and maybe a spleen or two!


End file.
